Because of Fate
by Icepen
Summary: Lily is a ballerina. James Potter is a Quidditch player. This is the story of a very unlikely couple discovering the true meaning of friendship, loyalty, life, and the real value of laughter as they go through some experiences that will change their lives forever. Rated T for said life changing experiences.
1. Letters

_A/N: Yay! I finally got around to posting this. I've been working on this for a while now, but updates still might be slow because I've handwritten most of this and my typing speed is terrible and I have a whole lot on my plate right now, but I swear to keep up with this story. That was a really long sentence. Oh and by the way I have a question. If Lily's birthday is in July, and James's is in March, then they would both be allowed to use magic in the summer before their seventh year, right? I suck at birthdays and cut-off dates, so please enlighten me. Happy reading!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the places that will be used in this story. They are the absolutely brilliant work of Mrs. J.K Rowling._

* * *

There was something wrong with this whole situation. A stranger (she knew from the handwriting) had written her a letter. No matter how many revealing charms she tried, there was no sender on the envelope; only a recipient: Her. It had come via owl, which was extremely rare in the current…climate. _'At least wizards don't know about anthrax and chloroform,' _she assured herself tremulously, not knowing exactly how much truth was in those words.

With shaking hands, she forced herself to open the envelope that was adorned with a snake seal.

**_ Miss Lily Evans,_**

**_ I have heard from word of mouth about you wonderful and considerable magical talent. I must really compliment you on it. However, as your exceptional mind must have perceived, the nature of this letter is darker than applauding your extraordinary skills._**

**_ As you know, the Death Eaters are recruiting. You, because of your superior skills, marvelous instincts, and superb logic, would be a great asset to my following. You should be honored to be even considered to be one of the lucky few who can join._**

**_ Send us your response with the same bird. Consider this your warning: If you do choose to reject us, well, let us just say you don't want us as your enemies._**

**_ Signed_**

**_ Lord Voldemort._**

The letter fell out of Lily's numb hands and she took a step back, as if it was highly explosive.

"Is everything alright Lily?" Rose Evans, Lily's mother, called from the kitchen.

"Y-yes everything is fine," she called back. '_Liar'_ her conscience chided.

"I thought I heard you scream," her mother said worriedly.

"Oh that was nothing. I thought I saw a spider on my desk," she invented, surprising herself at how steady her voice was.

"Well, come quick. Dinner is almost ready."

"In a minute, mum," she said keeping the worry in her voice at bay.

"Alright, hurry up then."

Her eyes flicked over the letter again, but this time instead of fear, she was offended. Offended that even a low down, no good, lying piece of scum like Voldemort would dare to think that she could be won over by flattery and threats.

Lily was a proud girl by nature. She did not need other's approval to be who she was. She was above that. She had enough self-respect to not be swayed by something as commonplace as flattery. Voldemort had insulted the most basic part of her nature and she wasn't about to put up with that.

The red-haired girl took a steadying breath and gathered the remnants of her dignity. She snatched a piece of parchment from her debatably organized desk and rummaged around for a quill and ink pot before sitting down to write.

**_Voldemort,_**

**_ I have heard from word of mouth about your evil schemes to ruin people's lives. I must tell you that you are absolutely delusional if you think I would even take a fraction of a second to consider such a – for the lack of a better word- organization. However, as your egotistical pigheadedness has probably not yet realized, I do NOT want to be a Death Eater. You see, I, unlike you, have my head screwed on straight and would sooner die than disgrace myself in such a way._**

**_ Signed,_**

**_ Lily Evans._**

Her eyes darted over the letter again to check it for spelling and grammatical errors, a habit she had fallen into at Hogwarts and tied it to the leg the black bird had so patiently held out, waiting to take the letter back to its master.

Just then, the doorbell rang and Lily jumped up and ran down the hall to get it trying to distract herself from the letter. But the sight she stumbled upon was one she was completely unprepared to see: Her father glaring daggers at James Potter.

* * *

_A/N: So… Now you know what to do. See the little review button down there? Go ahead and click it. Actually, I have a correction. Type something first. Then press the button. Next update will be here soon. I will try to put it up next Friday if my teachers decide not to be evil and give us too much homework._

- _Ice_


	2. Dire Warning

_A/N: Yay! Chapter two! It's kind of short but I hope you like it anyway! R&R!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, Hermione would punch Malfoy way more often._

* * *

"Potter," she gasped color flooding her face.

"Hey Evans," he said looking a bit out of breath.

"How do you two know each other?" Her dad, Mark Evans, asked suspiciously.

It was not that Mark was suspicious of every boy that tried to talk to his daughter. He was only suspicious of the ones that could make her blush without uttering a single syllable.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Potter, are you going to come inside, or stand out there catching dust?" Lily said, a bit more harshly than she intended.

"Y-yes, of course," he stammered and stepped over the threshold and into the Evans's living room. "Nice place," He commented politely causing Lily to blush madly.

In truth the Evans's small but comfortable home could not hold a candle to wherever James Potter came from. '_Probably a mansion plenty of house-elves to do everything for him,' _Lily thought resentfully as she looked around her own living room. It was rather small and adorned with a beat up old couch, a small bookcase with Lily's textbooks lined up neatly along the bottom two shelves and Petunias college books aligned pristinely in color and size order.

On the mantle were a few ballet trophies, alongside numerous academic trophies and more family portraits than anyone cared to count. Across from the fireplace was a long hall leading to the bedrooms and a bathroom, just enough space for the family of four.

"Are these yours?" Potter asked vaguely gesturing at the trophies.

"Mine and Petunia's," Lily clarified before lapsing into another awkward silence.

"How do you guys know each other?" Mark tried again.

"Yeah, you know, same house, same year…" She trailed of hoping her dad would understand without her having to bring up the 'persistently-asking-her-out sitiuation'. He nodded curtly and Lily flashed him a grateful smile.

"Dad could you please give us a moment?" She asked trying to pull and innocent little girl face.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Potter. Lily just gave him a sly half smile and patted the wand in her pocket. Mark smirked and walked away to let the crazy teenagers take care of their own business.

That was how the father and daughter communicated. It was helpful, since nobody could eavesdrop on non-verbal conversations.

"So, why are you here?" She demanded once her dad was out of earshot.

"Way to discourage small talk, Evans." He said, making a futile attempt at a joke. Lily shot him a death glare. Her nerves were stretched to breaking point and she wasn't about to let Potter annoy her even more.

"You know Regulus Black right?" He asked dropping his happy-go-lucky, arrogant, James Potter-like façade.

"Yes, he's Black's brother isn't he?" She asked wondering what he had to do anything else.

"Yeah, that's the one. He's a Death Eater now." He mentally berated himself for bluntness as he saw Lily's rosy cheeks drain of color.

Lily suddenly felt her knees go weak and had to grasp the edge of the couch so hard her knuckles went white. "They're recruiting at a young age," She whispered half to herself.

"Yeah, they are. I'm trying to warn everyone not to do anything reckless or stupid," Potter said to her, as he ran his hand through his hair. Her stomach felt sick with anxiety.

A subconscious part of Lily's dazed brain noted that this situation was not in the least bit normal. James Potter, of all the stupid people in the whole wide world of incredibly stupid people to chose from, James Potter just had to be the one to tell her not to do anything stupid. It was quite unfair. She should be telling James not to do anything stupid.

"Well, I have to go now. I promised mum I'd be back before dark," he said regretfully turning around to go to the door.

"Thanks, Potter," Lily said. War was absolutely no reason to be rude to people who just did something very nice for you.

"No problem, Evans," James replied suppressing a grin at how obviously red Lily's face was.

* * *

_A/N: Too Short? I think the next chapter will be longer. Please review._

_Peace, Love and Harry Potter,_

_Ice_


	3. Explanations

_A/N: Hey Guys. So here is chapter three. I know it's a little late, but I have exams coming up soon, and school is my priority. (Don't expect updates next or next-next week…review and exam weeks.)So I really need some input. Are these chapters too short and boring? I'm trying not to rush any of the scenes, but if it's too slow please don't hesitate to tell me. I really need help on that. Also, is this too depressing? Tell me, I will be eternally grateful. _

_Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

Lily was quiet all week. To everyone around her she seemed to be going through the motions without realizing what she was doing. Her parents worried, but Lily worried more.

She worried about her friends, Alice and Marlene. She worried about her parents and Petunia. She even worried a little teen tiny bit about people she couldn't stand, like Vernon and the four Marauders. But most of all, she worried about this whole entire screwed up mess.

How was she supposed to warn her parents that her stupid pride and big mouth had landed all of their lives in danger? _'Hi mum, Hi dad, there is a serial killer out to most likely murder us since I refused to join his "followers" and told him exactly what I thought quite rudely.' _Yeah. That would go over well.

She had already enhanced the basic muggle security around the house, full with sneakoscopes, security enchantments, anti-dark magic spells, intruder alarms and all. They had been silent for now, much to Lily's relief, but she wasn't about to let her guard down. She had even enlisted Marlene, Dorcas, Emmaline, Mary and Alice's help in setting up security enchantments around the entire neighborhood. Now the only thing left to do would be to tell her parents the information she had been shielding from them for such a long time. Sweet Merlin, this was going to be hard.

By the end of that week, she couldn't think of reasons to put it off any longer. So, with her stress levels rocketing and her stomach tying itself into knots, she approached her parents after dinner that Saturday.

"Hey, umm can I have a word?" She managed to get out at long last.

"Sure thing, what's on your mind?" Her mother responded gently.

Lily smiled gratefully at her mother for her gentle nudge. There was no way she would he allowed to back out of this now. "Well, you see, there's this uh, well, a war, in uh the wizarding world." She paused to see how her parents would take this news and silently berated herself on how awkward that statement sounded.

Her dad's face lost its relaxed, I'm-full-with-a-really-good-dinner-and-I-don't-hav e-a-care-in-the-world quality and his green eyes narrowed with concern. Her mother went ghostly pale and looked absolutely terrified at the prospect of her youngest daughter even mentioning war, much less being so dangerously close to it.

"But you don't have anything to do with it right? You're just warning us to be on our guard?"

"I wish," Lily said sighing sadly. "But everyone with any magic will have to choose a side soon." She sighed heavily.

"You've already chosen, haven't you?" Her father asked gently.

"Yes. I have. And I also told the leader of the other side that he was an evil, delusional egomaniac who had his head screwed on backwards." She said turning red under the scrutiny of her parents.

Her dad let out a dry laugh. "What is this war over, may I ask?"

"Blood purity," Lily responded, keeping her emotions and fear firmly in check as she swept on explaining about "Pure-bloods," and "Half-bloods," And "Mudbloods," and the legendary rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin until it all finally came down into an all-out war.

By the time she was done, her parents were looking at her with an expression that she had never seen before. It was mixture of pride, respect, terror, and a measure of protectiveness.

"What can we do to help?" Rose asked. She would be damned before she let her daughter face this threat alone.

Lily visibly did a double take at those words but then she regained her relatively composed expression.

"Nothing," Lily said imploring her mother to understand.

"What do you mean nothing?" Her mother demanded raising her eyebrows in an indignant and stubborn expression that Lily recognized immediately. She had one just like it.

"If you start doing anything out of the ordinary for now, it would just raise suspicion. Severus is most likely the Death Eater who is meant to tail you for abnormal activity, so just remember to lock the front door and never, ever, leave the house without telling me. Ever. And as far as you know, Voldemort is a magical fungus, ok?" Lily commanded.

"Yes ma'am," Her dad teased pretending to salute her. "Now can I have the remote?"

Lily was baffled for a moment, but then realized that her dad, a retired police officer, was catching onto her plan faster than she was herself. She laughed and tossed him the remote.

"One last question Lily," Violet started, "Who is this Potter boy that keeps popping up?"

* * *

_So you guys know what to do! The review button is right down there. By now, I honestly don't care if you leave a recipe in there, so as long as I get a review._


	4. Terrible Encounter

_A/N: Oh my gosh, sorry it's been so long. I promised myself I'd update on the last day of school, but then, my brain turned off and I guess I got lazy. And, I, being the royal procrastinator that I am, put it off till now. I swear I won't put this off for a long time anymore. (Or, I'll try, at least.) Any who, this chapter is much longer than the ones before it, so I hope that you like it better for the length. _

_Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be mine. Unless obviously, you want to buy it for me._

* * *

"Mum, for the billionth time today, NO, I DO NOT LIKE JAMES POTTER AT ALL!" Lily was all but shouting by that point.

Her face was matching (and maybe even darker than) the color of her hair, her Irish accent was becoming more pronounced, and she was on the verge of banging her head against the table in sheer frustration, but her mother, was as cool as a cucumber.

Her blonde hair was perfectly smooth in its neat bun, and her eyes blue were calm and slightly crinkled up at the corners, which gave her a very motherly and comforting presence.

"Now, Lily, give the boy a chance. He might not be so bad," she said calmly, which just infuriated Lily even more.

"No mum. He is an absolute, arrogant, bull-headed, cocky, over-confident toerag," Lily said firmly, refusing back down.

"Alright, if you insist, but now, you need to get ready for your rehearsal. Should I drive?" Daisy asked cheekily.

"NO! I'll drive. You two stay put," Lily exclaimed, gladly escaping from the interrogation room (more commonly known as the kitchen.)

If her mother drove, then she would have to put up with more talk about Potter. School was bad enough with all the little squealing girls gushing and mooning over him, just because he was the Quidditch captain. And they wondered why he had a gargantuan ego.

"Alright, alright," Rose sighed. "See, Mark, she won't even take advice about boys from her own mummy," she fake-pouted.

Deciding it was best not to linger, Lily nearly sprinted down the hall to her room, snatched the car keys, and slung her dance bag over her shoulder. It was only at the last minute that she tucked her willow wand in the waist band of her shorts.

"I'm going, you two stay put!" Lily called over her shoulder as she turned on the car.

It was not the fact that Lily didn't have an apparition license that kept her from apparating, because she had passed her test with flying colors, or the fact that she found apparition uncomfortable, but more the fact that she preferred driving. Driving places the good old Muggle way gave her time to just take in her surroundings and catch her breath in her crazy life.

Parking carefully, she got out of the blue family car and stepped into the conservatory. She tried to sneak inconspicuously through the room as the beginner class was going on, but failed miserably, because she was wearing a hot pink top, short jean shorts and her ballet bag was bright green. The little four and five year olds ogled at her, and Lily heard one of them whisper, "Mary Kate told me that girl is the one who will be doing the opening solo in the big recital!"

She struggled to suppress the blush that rose to her cheeks when she heard that as she slipped into the locker rooms to be greeted by tense and jealous nods.

Ever since before the audition, that was how things had been. The competition for everything was tough and some girls here would kill to have the solo. They all knew Lily disappeared off to some private school for nearly ten months, give or take a few weeks for Christmas and Easter, but they spent nearly all their time at the conservatory, which was highly unfair. However, what they didn't realize was that Lily did practically the same thing at her "private school for nerdy snobs."

History of Magic, her last class of the day was by far the most stressful class she had. The other kids in the entire school found it a great place to catch up on sleep, pass notes, or play exploding snap, but Lily did neither of these things.

Her time was consumed by finishing homework for all her previous classes, keeping track of her notes for History of Magic, making sure Marlene didn't throw spitballs at professor Binns to see if they would go through him, ignoring Pettigrew, Potter, Black, and Snape, forcing Mary to stay awake, keeping fights from breaking out between Marlene and Black, keeping Black at the opposite end of the room, (or at least trying to), and stemming the flow of notes between Frank and Alice. Then she would fill in holes in her History of Magic notes (dates that Binns didn't mention) with her textbook, and make a copy for Remus if she had to. Then, she would ask Emmaline and Dorcas to cover for her, and she would slip off to the Room of Requirement to practice ballet.

She would hide away for an hour and a half or so and just dance her socks off. It was her routine. On weekends, she would do her homework on Saturday, rest with her friends on Sunday, and go throughout the whole week all over again. It was exhausting, but it was that kind of dedication and work ethic that got her the opening solo in the recital.

"Oh, look, it's the soloist," A mean natured voice said to her. If Lily didn't have better things to worry about, she would have been riled up. But she had a bigger fish to fry.

Years of arguing with Potter had taught her how and when to hold her tongue, if nothing else, so Lily sat down and continued adjusting the elastic on her ballet shoes as if she hadn't heard.

"Where do you disappear off to every year anyway?" The girl, Rosella, persisted.

"I go to school. Although, I doubt you know what that is," Lily said with a hard edge to her voice. It was nowhere near as obvious as if she was talking to the Marauders or Severus, but still definitely detectable.

"I can't believe you said that," she gasped, looking offended. Lily tried not to roll her , arguing with someone as bullheaded as that Potter boy for six years made arguing with other people so much easier. It was now an easy task to get people to shove off with just one well placed remark.

She finished her bun with ease and went to join the class to warm-up.

"Ok, now we're going to run through the program from the beginning," Madam Fontaine called out after they finished their exercises.

Lily took her place on the floor and waited for the pianist to start playing the opening bars to the music. The soft tinkling of the piano reached her ears, and her feet magically began dancing.

Her heart was in her toes as she did her series of leaps and spins. This was what she was meant to do. This was what she was born to do. _Attitude… hold it…control…control… and…yes… land that… point that toe… perfect_. She floated gracefully through the choreography, moving herself in perfect time with the tempo of the music ignoring the painful blisters growing on her feet. She couldn't help the grin that split her face. This was heaven.

The music dwindled to a halt and she struck her ending pose. The solo part was done. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw the others take their places, as the pianist stated an upbeat piece. This part of the recital, Lily reflected, was much easier than the solo for whatever reason.

* * *

When they finished their run through and fixed most of their mistakes, run through everything again, adjusted some minute details, and went through short chunks of everything, the class was finally dismissed. Lily threw an entire liter bottle of water down her throat in about two gulps. Sweet Merlin, that was tiring. As content as she was just sitting on that bench, she had to get back home. Reality was waiting.

Sighing she got up and made her way down the stairs and to her car. It was getting dark out, and in her current paranoid state, every shadow seemed to be a Death Eater waiting to strike, every whisper in the wind was a spy, and every flicker of movement made her jump.

This would never work. She had to pull herself together in order to function properly. _ Come on Lily, _she encouraged herself, _pull it together. You can do it, calm down. You're going to be absolutely useless to everyone in this state, and that doesn't bode well for you. _

But the hair on the back of her neck still rose uncomfortably, and she still couldn't help her uncharacteristic jumpiness. And the worst thing was that she didn't know what was making her that way. Initially, she dismissed it as "just nerves," but after a while, she couldn't deny that that was something was up.

"Hello there," a soft, and painfully, heartbreakingly familiar voice whispered in her ear. Her heart leapt to her throat. This could not be happening. _Please, _don't let this be happening. She hand involuntarily went towards the wand in her waist.

"Now, now, now, that isn't necessary," the voice whispered again.

"Severus," she whispered. Lily didn't know whether to be terrified of what her ex-friend had become, or upset that her had gone over to the dark side. In the end, she settled for angry that he would still have the nerve to still talk to her.

"You have one minute to tell me what you want," she said, her voice sounding much braver than she felt as she turned around to face him.

He was wearing all black as usual, so his pale face stood out against the setting sun. His hair was still (and maybe more) greasy than when she had left on the Hogwarts express. In fact, his appearance hadn't changed much since she had left at the end of term, but his expression was more twisted, and there was something in his face that made her stop dead in her tracks.

It was barely detectable to anyone who hadn't known him as well as she did. She had been his best friend for seven years, and nobody knew him better than she did. She had learned to read his nearly nonexistent expressions as easily as she could read books. But this new, twisted, hateful expression was one she had never seen before. And frankly, it scared her.

"Ah, well you see, my flower," he began silkily. Lily almost punched him in the face for having the nerve to call her that. Her hand moved towards her pocket again, only to realize her wand was gone.

"What, no 'mudblood'?" She asked dryly, strengthening her defenses. There was no way she was going to let him get to her.

"You know I didn't mean that!" he exclaimed pathetically.

"Next thing you'll tell me is that your hair is green, you liar!" She said with a steely edge to her voice.

"You might like to watch your tongue," he sneered, losing his temper as well. It was only slightly longer than her own. "Because it seems that you are missing something." He pulled out a willow wand for his shirt pocket. "Recognize this?"

Lily had to suppress a gasp. "You have one minute to tell me what you want," she repeated more forcefully.

"You are in no position to make deals," he practically hissed. "I will talk, but not here. We'll go to this place I found. I do not like to be overheard."

"If you want to talk to me, you will do it here, in the open. Where we can see each other and people can see us."

"Sounds as if you almost don't trust me," he said, but stopped at her rather unimpressed face.

"Cut to it, Snivellus!" Lily shouted, her frustration at not know if her friends were alright or not, her anger at Voldemort for being a (to put it gently) git, and her hurt at his betrayal, all exploding out of the little box she hid all her bitter feelings in. The next thing she knew, she was writhing in horrible pain on the ground. ,

"Excruciating pain", or ,"Hurt like hell," didn't even begin to describe the feeling. It was like the words were from a language too naïve, to know what she was going through at the moment.

It was like white hot knives were cutting her flesh while she was being electrocuted by high voltage wires as she was walking on burning coal. Her brain was unable to function properly. Through the blinding, horrible, torturous pain, she heard a long, high pitched, drawn out scream. She assumed it was hers.

And then finally, after what felt like a million light-years, it mercifully ended. Her cheeks felt a little wet. She touched it and saw blood, tears and dirt on her cheek. She must have scraped it when she had fallen to the ground without it registering in her royally frazzled brain.

Trembling from head to toe and breathing as if she had just run a marathon in ten minutes, she tried to struggle into a relatively upright position, but her very bones screamed in protest. So, instead, she managed to gather the remnants of her pride spit on Se- what's-his-name's shoes.

"Take that as a warning. The Dark Lord does not like to be rejected," he said, leaning over her. His voice seemed to be trying to imply a double meaning, and his expression was still slightly demented, but Lily thought that she saw shadows of regret, guilt, and terror in his eyes. Then he dropped her wand by her head, administered a swift kick to her still throbbing back, and disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

_A/N: I know what y'all are thinking. 'Why would Snape do that? I thought he liked Lily.' Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Don't worry though; it's nothing personal to Snape. I like him well enough. _

_Love,_

_ Ice_


	5. Death Eater at Last

_Chapter 5_

_A/N: Hey guys... In this one the POV switches a bit. It starts with Snape and then goes back to Lily. I thought I might as well clear that up so that I don't confuse anybody. Please review!_

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter_

* * *

"Severus, have you done the deed?" A cold, high pitched voice said from the shadows.

"Yes, milord," Severus replied, keeping his voice and face calculatedly blank. "I have no loyalty to anyone except you, milord." He bowed his head low with respect.

"Excellent," he practically hissed. Then he said something in parseltongue that Severus couldn't make heads or tails out of, but Nagini let out a hiss in response.

He shivered. That snake seemed terrifyingly human to him. The conversations she shared with his master fascinated him almost as much as they scared him.

"It is fascinating, isn't it? The way human and snake can converse as equals?" The Dark Lord seemed pleased, but Severus was startled.

_Was there anyway that his master could read minds_? He thought panicking. The thought seemed highly likely. It sent shivers down his back just thinking about it. How many private memories could he see? Severus didn't want anyone to know that his father had been a crazy, common, filthy, drunken muggle. It was far too embarrassing and it might affect His Lord's decision whether to induct or incapacitate him.

He realized that everyone at the meeting was looking at him expectantly. "Yes, milord," he whispered modestly. He prayed that Lord Voldemort wouldn't find his delayed answer to be rude.

"You have a burning desire to be part of our society," Voldemort murmured, half to himself.

The young greasy haired boy nodded excitedly. This was it. He had done the deed that was assigned to him. He had given Lil- that mudblood Evans his master's warning. He would show her and that cocky toe-rag Potter that he could be better than them. Hell, he already was.

And his father… there were a few words that he would like to say to him once- no if- (his Master didn't like pride) - he became a Death Eater. He would make his filthy muggle father sorry he was ever born.

"You are also eager to please…," Lord Voldemort let his voice trail off for a moment before continuing on with is speech. "But you have had a troubled past. I hope I am correct in assuming that those past experiences won't affect your decisions _if _you become a part of our society." He emphasized if like he wanted to make a point about pride.

"Yes milord," the boy whispered breathlessly.

"I feel that you shall serve me well, Severus," the pallid man said, looking close to pleased. "Come up here."

The boy nearly tripped over his own feet in his excitement. The other Death Eaters in the room looked at him appraisingly. They supposed he could do.

"Give me your left arm," Voldemort ordered. Severus complied.

The Dark Lord pulled out his want and muttered an incantation. He began burning a dark mark on Severus's arm. It didn't hurt very much at first, but soon the burning sensation got much worse and he had to clench his teeth against the feeling. "Welcome to the Knights of Walpurgis, Severus. I know you will serve me well."

"Y-yes master, thank you!" He exclaimed, dropping his composed demeanor in a moment of excitement. This was it. He was in. He had made it.

It wouldn't matter now that Lily was going to hate him forever. He had ensured himself a spot amongst the purest of the pure-bloods. And maybe eventually, Lily would warn up to the idea and join them. He thought he had met his destiny.

* * *

There was no way of telling how long she lay there. It could have been an hour; it could have been five minutes. She was exhausted and her bones were screaming in pain at her every move as she forced herself to grab her wand and get to her feet. It had been raining for the past few-how long _had_ it been - and she was soaked to her skin.

Sopping wet and trying to stem the blood flow from her cheek, she managed to make her way to her car. She drove home as fast as she could, controlling the urge to apperate right from the middle of the street back to her house to check on her parents.

She got back home, nervous about what she was going to see. If Death Eaters could find her at a ballet conservatory, they could most definitely find her house. Lily tentatively stepped into the kitchen, only to see it just as she had left it. She let go of a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Hi mum, hi dad," Lily said, the relief was evident in her voice.

"Oh my goodness Lily, what happened to you?" Her mother fussed.

"Oh, this," she said pointing to her cheek. She practically kicked herself for not healing it before she got back. "It's no big deal." Lily quickly cast a healing charm on her cheek so it wouldn't worry her parents. She inhaled sharply as her cheek went from burning hot to freezing cold really cold in a matter of seconds. "There, see, it's all better."

"Then let's get you nice and cleaned up shall we? Go take a shower, I'll make some hot chicken soup," her mother said suspiciously. She draped a towel from the clean-laundry hamper around her skinny shoulders.

Lily nodded and made her way to the bathroom. She turned on the hot water and let it run over her still throbbing skin and sore muscles. She noted vaguely that she would have to make a pain-relieving potion for the crutiatus curse since muggle medicines didn't work on it, but at the moment, she didn't even feel up to brewing a simple Cure for Boils. All she wanted to do was curl up on her soft bed and fall asleep.

After a few more minutes of this warm, blissful oblivion, she turned off the hot water, pulled a fluffy white towel around herself, and changed into a pair if pajama pants and a baggy t-shirt. She wrapped her hair in the towel and limped into the kitchen.

Her mother had whipped up a steaming hot bowl of chicken soup that looked like heaven to the exhausted girl. She settled into the chair with a sigh and proceeded to devour the soup like a starving wolf.

"Mm, Mum, this soup is the best thing on earth," she said groaned as she felt the hot liquid warm up her throat, sore from all that screaming.

"Well, drink up, darling, there's no hurry," her mother said, an amused grin playing the corners of her mouth as she watched her daughter practically inhale the rest of her chicken soup.

* * *

_So, what do you guys think? Leave a review please! I'm sorry if this is too full of nothing at the end._

_Love_

_Ice_


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